Born in 1716, George Taylor left his home in northern Ireland when he was just twenty years old, and came to America as an indentured servant. At first he was a laborer, but he later worked his way up to a position as clerk and then as bookkeeper and manager of Coventry Forge, one of his employer’s businesses. Taylor inherited the business when his employer died in 1742.
Taylor became involved in politics in 1747 when he was serving as captain of the Chester County militia. From 1764 until 1775 he served as justice of the peace for Northampton County. He sat on the colonial legislature from 1764 to 1770 as well. Additionally, he was a member of Northampton’s committee of correspondence and a colonel in the militias of Bucks and Northampton Counties. In 1776 Taylor was chosen to be one of Pennsylvania’s delegates to the Continental Congress. He did not earn himself any fame while there, but he later helped negotiate a peace treaty with the Iroquois. He died in 1781 at the age of sixty-five. His grave is located in Easton, Pennsylvania